This year CBC Arts created a musical program that allowed Canadians and people around the world to watch their New Year's Eve celebrations as they unfolded. The musical program was hosted by Rick Mercer from Niagara Falls, and featured Canadian artists and musicians, fans, and fireworks live from all of the different Canadian time zones.
The Newfoundland stream of Canada's New Year's Eve countdown to 2018 was presented by Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett, Tom Power and friends and attended by their friends and family at Mallard Cottage. They opened with 'Row Me Bully Boys Row'. Alan Doyle counted down to the New Year and the band then followed up with 'Lukey's Boat', 'Sonny's Dream' and ended with the 'St. John's Waltz'. Also included in this section of the presentation were performances from Jessie Reyer at Niagara Falls and A Tribe Called Red in Halifax.
The musicians and crowd at Mallard Cottage were on fire. The musicians and crowds at Niagara Falls were on fire and all other venues across Canada, so I thought it was a bit of a wasted opportunity for CBC Arts to spend so much time on written trivia instead of great Canadian artists and musicians to play and perform which bought so much enjoyment. I really enjoyed the Indigenous Canadian inclusion in the program.
The program was telecast in a number of different ways including television and live streaming. I was thrilled I was able to watch the celebrations on a very cold Canadian New Year's Eve on YouTube from Australia in the middle of a warm New Year's Day.
I have shared the official CBC Newfoundland segment from YouTube on my Google + page. The images are from the stream and no copyright infringement intended.
